eCommerce is a multi-billion dollar industry that, according to data from eMarketer, is worth over $5 trillion globally, with the industry expected to expand to $7 trillion by 2025.
Today, there are an estimated 12-22 million eCommerce websites, with more created each day. This data shows one thing clearly: the eCommerce industry will continue growing, and if there ever was a time to get into this space, it’s now.
This article will focus on and discuss two marketplaces in the eCommerce space: YesStyle and AliExpresss.
Let’s start with a features comparison:
目录
YesStyle vs. AliExpress: Features Comparison
| Feature | YesStyle | AliExpress |
| Supported Payments | YesStyle supports PayPal, GooglePay, ApplePay, Credit card payments, and Direct Deposit in Hong Kong Dollars | AliExpress accepts PayPal, bank transfers, Qiwi Wallet Alipay, Western Union, and several other country-specific payments like Webmoney, Giropay, etc |
| Shipping | Offers trackable Standard and Express Shipping, with free shipping attached to a minimum purchase based on country | AliExpress has a warehousing presence in over 190 countries but is also cross-border and can ship worldwide |
| Customer support | You can reach customer support via email, call, or social media messaging. You can even email the CEO | Customers can contact AliExpress sellers directly. AliExpress also has a customer service team that’s reachable via email, social media, and a dispute resolution system |
| Refunds and returns | You can return most products within 14 days, with the option to return to a local warehouse —in select countries | AliExpress has a 15-days, no-explanation-needed returns and refund policy |
| Buyer protection | You can access various buyer protection programs, including a quality assurance policy | AliExpress has several buyer protection policies, including a genuineness guarantee policy |
| Quality | Like most similar platforms that source products from manufacturers, quality can be an issue | Since it’s a multi-seller platform, quality can be an issue, and it’s best to scrutinize each product and read the description (the fine print) |
| MOQ | Most products do not have an MOQ, but some might | No MOQ, but because it’s B2C and B2B, some items may have a minimum order quantity |
| Product range | Thousands of beauty, lifestyle, and fashion products | Over 100,000,000 products from over 200,000 sellers and suppliers |
Now that you know how both platforms compare to each other feature-wise, let’s dissect each individually:
Key Things To Note about YesStyle
Launched in 2006, YesStyle is a Hong Kong-based, business-to-consumer (B2B) subsidiary of YesAsia that focuses on Japanese and Korean lifestyle, beauty, and fashion products.
This cross-border B2C platform has one mission, according to their LinkedIn profile: “To provide customers with an exciting shopping experience, superior service and a fine selection of affordable, high-quality Asian beauty products, and Asian fashion and lifestyle products.”
The Pros of YesStyle
Some good, notable things about YesStyle are:
1. Discounts galore
One of the most notable things about YesStyle is that it offers tons of discounts, including coupon codes and various promotional offers. For example, at the time of writing this, they were running 10, 12, and 15% off offers for orders above $79, $99, and $149, respectively:
Additionally, signing up/registering earns you a 10% off discount, subject to a stipulated minimum payment:
You can also get discounted or even free shipping on orders above a specific dollar amount. Additionally, YesStyle runs special and seasonal sales offers, and you can earn and redeem YS points after joining the free-to-join YesStyle Elite Club.
2. Programs
Besides the YesStyle Elite Club program, YesStyle has many others programs, including YesStyle Friend Reward and YesStyle Student Program.
With the Friend Reward Program, you can share your reward codes with your social circle, and when they use your codes to purchase from YesStyle, you will earn YS points from the amount they saved off their purchase. You can then use these points to shop on the platform.
Besides these two programs, you can also access other programs like the influencer and student organization sponsorship program.
3. Variety
YesStyle has one of the largest catalogs of Asian lifestyle, fashion, and beauty-related products. For example, while other platforms, including AliExpress, offer tons of clothing products, YesStyle will be your best bet if you specifically want to dropship affordable clothing or lifestyle and skincare products.
You can buy —for women and men— activewear, tops, pants, knitwear, coats and jackets, outerwear, bags, accessories, and even hair care and make-up products.
Other YesStyle pros are:
- Trendy and stylish products for special or everyday wear
- Buy now pay later —only available with PayPal
- Dropshipping —because it’s a subsidiary of YesAsia, you can use its sister site, asianbeautywholesale.com, to buy wholesale products directly from Asian brands
- Affordable shipping, including free shipping on orders above a certain amount
- Stellar customer support that goes out of its way to respond to concerns and complaints
The Cons of YesStyle
With over 71,000 reviews on TrustPilot, only 4% of YesStyle’s reviews are bad or poor.
Some common complaints about YesStyle are:
- Shipping delays and challenges: Because it mostly ships from Asian warehouses, shipping delays and challenges are a common complaint, with one Trustpilot user stating:
- Size concerns: Because it sells Asian-made lifestyle products and sizes are usually free or one size, there can be size conflicts, especially with buyers in the US and EU
- Some quality concerns: YesStyle has a quality assurance policy, but some buyers have complained about the quality of products, with one Trustpilot buyer noting:
Key things To Note about AliExpress
Owned by Alibaba, AliExpress is a leading B2B and B2C platform that started as a B2B platform and later integrated B2C services —and other services, including cloud computing and payment processing. It has over 100 million products from over 200,000 suppliers and is a top platform for businesses owner looking for dropshipping products and suppliers.
The platform supports more than 20 popular payment systems, with shipping and logistical systems in more than 200 countries
Pros of AliExpress
Some outstanding things about AliExpress are:
1. B2C and B2B
Because AliExpress is B2C and B2b, it has something for everyone: end consumers looking to buy one product or business owners looking to buy wholesale products and have their orders warehoused and fulfilled. This alone makes it one of the best eCommerce marketplaces.
2. Variety
As mentioned, AliExpress has over 200,000 sellers —it’s like Alibaba in that it’s a multi-seller platform— offering more than 100 million products in a diverse range of categories, including but not limited to home and appliances, electronics, beauty, health, and lifestyle, jewelry and accessories, etc.
3. Ease of getting started
AliExpress makes it super easy to start an eCommerce business. For example, besides being a source for dropshipping manufacturers and suppliers who are ready to fulfill your orders without needing you to handle inventory, AliExpress can help you start an eCommerce business in a jiff, using their turnkey store options.
This ease of getting started means you can have an eCommerce business up and running in no time.
4. Direct communication with sellers/suppliers
AliExpress’s multi-seller nature means you can contact suppliers and sellers directly, which can come in handy when you want to negotiate prices for bulk orders, thereby enhancing your profit potential.
Moreover, the marketplace has a robust messaging system. Should you and a seller fail to resolve an issue, you can always raise a ticket to kickstart the dispute resolution process mediated by the in-house customer support team.
Cons of AliExpress
Some core downsides to using AliExpress are:
1. Shipping-related issues
Like most Asian-based eCommerce marketplaces, AliExpress can sometimes have shipping issues, with many users on Trustpilot complaining about shipping delays, receiving the wrong order or no order at all, and in some cases, customs issues. One Trustpilot user noted:
2. Inadequate Quality control
Because AliExpress is a multi-seller marketplace, the platform does not have a streamlined, in-house quality control process. Instead, sellers are responsible for maintaining quality control standards.
While it is always best to order a few test products from potential suppliers, that’s an extra step, which also means more time. The lack of in-house quality control can complicate things, especially since you won’t be warehousing inventory.
Other common concerns about AliExpress include:
- Complications with refunds and returns: Some customers complain about AliExpress closing issues without offering a refund and a complicated returns process.
- Eva: Several Trustpilot users have complained about automated message responses from Evan, AliExpress’s automated messaging bot. While the bot can be useful, it can also make it challenging to contact an actual customer care representative.
We’ve covered the platforms’ key features, pros, and cons. Let’s now cover some of their primary differences:
The Key Differences Between YesStyle and AliExpress
The main differences are:
∗B2C and B2B
As you now know, YesStyle is B2C, meaning it sells directly to consumers, with a sister arm —a different website— for eCommerce business owners. On the other hand, AliExpress is B2C and B2B, serving consumers and business owners alike.
∗Multi-seller differences
YesStyle is not a multi-seller platform while AliExpress is. There are advantages and disadvantages to this.
For example, with YesStyle, you can only buy products at the set prices or use coupons and discounts to reduce the prices. On the other hand, with AliExpress, you can contact sellers directly to negotiate prices, which can make all the profit difference for a dropshipping business owner.
∗Contacting customer support
With YesStyle, because it’s not a multi-seller platform —YesStyle sources from local manufacturers and suppliers— you contact customer support directly when you have an issue resolved.
On the other hand, with AliExpress, your first issue-resolution option will usually be with sellers directly, with the option of reaching out to customer support should you need to —perhaps to escalate a dispute.
∗Free/discounted shipping
YesStyle offers free or discounted shipping for purchases above a certain dollar amount. That’s not the case with AliExpress —or that option is not as apparent with AliExpress, even though some products have free shipping.
∗Coupon codes
YesStyle has tons of active coupon codes and promo deals on Knoji, a consumer-driven product research platform, while AliExpress doesn’t have as many coupons and promo deals.
∗Product categories
As mentioned earlier, YesStyle primarily deals with lifestyle, beauty, and fashion products like clothes, make-up, and beauty products, with a bit of dabbling in home and lifestyle products like wigs, make-up brushes, and electronic accessories, like mobile phone cases.
In comparison, AliExpress is a lot like eBay or Amazon in the sense that you can find just about anything you’d want on the marketplace: from toys to auto parts to office supplies and tons more.
∗Pay later
YesStyle has a PayPal-based pay later system. On the other hand, AliExpress uses Klarna and an additional option from zip.co for US buyers.
The Final Verdict
In all honesty, both platforms have merits and demerits, and which of the two options is better for you will largely depend on your needs.
Fundamentally, however:
As mentioned, YesStyle is customer-centered, with a sister arm, asianbeautywholesale.com, supporting its B2B operations. Therefore, in that regard, AliExpress could be the better of the two platforms, especially from a dropshipping standpoint, because you get everything under one roof.
On the issue of product range and categories, AliExpress takes a clear lead over YesStyle because it has over 100 million products in different categories from over 200,000 sellers. In contrast, YesStyle primarily focuses on the beauty, lifestyle, and fashion categories.
Quality control-wise, YesStyle is the better choice because, unlike AliExpress, it’s not a multi-seller platform, which means the platform can exert a degree of in-house quality control from suppliers. Contrastingly, AliExpress sellers and suppliers are responsible for controlling their quality.
NOTE: It’s worth noting that both platforms source products from Asian manufacturers and suppliers —on AliExpress, a seller could be a manufacturer or individual sourcing products from a manufacturer, while YesStyle deals directly with manufacturers and suppliers. Therefore, product quality will not be that different because both platforms could be getting items from the same manufacturer. All in all, if you want better quality control, YesStyle seems like the better choice.
In conclusion, AliExpress is the clear winner based on its merits and demerits. Fortunately, you can hedge against some of the platform’s downsides by working with a professional and reliable dropshipping agent.
A dropshipping agent can help you source AliExpress products from local Chinese suppliers, inspect these products for quality, warehouse them, and even fulfill them with custom packaging, which can make all the difference in your business.
